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Monday, February 8, 2016

Xec, a Jicama and Citrus Salad from Yucatan

This jicama citrus salad from the Yucatan is known as “Xec”
or “Xe’ec”, which comes from the Mayan word for “ensalada” (salad). It is also
known by other names, like “check” and “sheck”. It is a healthy, quick, and
easy to prepare dish, and is a classic side dish during the Day of the Dead. This
citrus salad is also sold by street vendors and in local markets, when the
fruit is in season. In Mexico, jicama is in season from November to January. One of the ingredients used in Yucatan is the
Bitter Seville orange, which is really hard to find here in the USA. I usually
substitute it with a mix of orange and grape fruit, with a little squirt of
lime juice.

For 4 years during my time living in the south of Mexico, I
lived in a small house that I shared with another two school teachers that
where from Merida, Yucatan. They used to go to the city of Merida every two
weeks to visit their families. We were all in our early twenties, and missing
our home cooked meals. Every time they went to Merida they would come back
carrying care packages full of appetizing food their mothers had prepared for
them to enjoy during the week. Some of the things they would also bring where
the seasonings that are so unique to the Yucatan cuisine. They were in charge
of cooking during the weekdays, since I worked far away from the city, so when
I got back from work the food was already made. The result was that I spent all
those years eating meals prepared by my roommates from Yucatan, and some days I
miss that food from my time as a teacher.

You can use any powdered pepper,
like cayenne pepper powder, to spice up the salad. I’ve seen people in Yucatan even
add chopped habanero peppers to this salad. One teaspoon of ground pepper will not render
a very spicy salad for the amount of fruit used in the recipe, so adjust the
spiciness to your own personal taste. I like to add a little bit more of the
pepper to my serving.

If you don’t find fresh mandarins,
you can use the ones sold packaged in their own juice in small containers.

Other additions to this salad
include grapefruit pieces and chopped cucumber.

DIRECTIONS:

1.Peel the jicama using a paring knife or by
pulling the skins off and placing the knife on the top part of the jicama and
pulling down the skins. Remove any excess skin with a potato peeler. Dice the
jicama into small bite sizes, place in a large bowl, and squeeze half of the lime
juice over it to prevent browning and add flavor.Set aside.

2.Peel the oranges, slice them, and then cut the
slices in four. Add them to the jicama.

1.Peel mandarins with your hands, separate in
segments. To remove the seeds, cut along the edge of the side column of the
segment, as shown on the picture. Once you cut it, the seeds will come out
easily. Place all your deseeded mandarin segments in the bowl with the rest of
the fruit.

2.Now, in a smaller bowl, mix orange juice,
grapefruit juice, the rest of the lime juice, ground pepper, cilantro, and
salt. Mix well and pour over fruit. Gently stir everything. You can refrigerate
this salad for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to blend, or you can eat
it immediately.